Oblivious Love
by kimeku
Summary: This is my second ShunsuiXNanao fic. Story is set in the modern world, Shunsui and Nanao are tending at a bar. Featuring many other Bleach characters. Enjoy.
1. Searching for the one

"What would be the preferable age gap for your partner?" the consultant asked. "I don't have a problem with age actually. Maybe about 2 – 3 years difference?" replied the smartly dressed client. The consultant nodded her head and proceeded to ask the next question.

Kyoraku Shunsui had taken the day off just to attend this session which he considered a life-or-death situation. He had to postpone the previous sessions with the dating agency because of his busy work schedule.

If it wasn't for his mother who nagged at him to find a partner every month she came to visit him, he would have left the matter alone and continued to live life his way. But he was tired of hearing the same words over and over again from his mother and had no choice but to take the first step.

"Alright, that will be all for today. Thank you for taking your time to answer the questionnaire. We will contact you in a week's time to make another appointment with you after we have the results. Have a good day." The consultant bowed and showed him the way out.

"Thank you." He said and stepped out of the building, to be greeted by the last rays of sunlight shining down on him. Just then his hand phone rang, he took one look at the caller id and pressed the disconnect button. Even though he had said he would not take any calls today, his secretary apparently didn't understand.

_"Come on, give the man his break! Work is the last thing on my mind today. I want to enjoy the rest of my day. Damn technology these days."_ He thought and decided to head to his favourite bar and get a few drinks.

* * *

As the door creaked open the tinkling sound of the bell alerted the bartender and his gaze shifted from the glass he was cleaning to the figure standing at the door. "Come in, come in. Don't block the entrance." He smiled and beckoned the bespectacled girl to enter.

"I saw the sign outside looking for extra staff." She said. "Ah, yes! Here, take this. After you have decided you can fill up the form below and drop it in the box outside the shop." He told her and handed her a form with the company's details.

"Thanks." She replied, placed the form in her bag and walked towards the door. She was about to place her hand on the door handle when it pulled open. "I'm sorry! Did I startle you?" asked the man who opened the door. "No… I'm fine. Thank you." She said and made a quick escape from the shop.

"Hey, it's been a long time since I saw you, Shunsui!" exclaimed the bartender when he saw his old friend entering the bar. "Hey, Jushiro! How are you?" Shunsui reached over the counter and gave his friend a bear hug.

"I'm good, real good. What have you been up to these years?" asked Jushiro. "Here, this is my business card." Deciding to cut short his story, Shunsui handed him his card and was offered the other's card in return. "Wow! You're the MD of Kinreite company? That's great news." Jushiro said as he read his friend's professional status. "You are not bad either. At least you are your own boss." Shunsui replied and smiled.

"It's been almost a decade since I saw you. Do you still remember when we were in University?" asked Jushiro as he prepared a drink for Shunsui. "Yeah, we were really wild. All those drinking parties and skipping classes." Shunsui laughed as the memories flooded his mind. Jushiro smiled and he placed a cocktail glass on the table top, "Have a drink. It's on the house." "Margarita is not enough for me, you know. I want _sake_."

"Ok, but that is not on the house. You have to pay for it." Said Jushiro and he took out a bottle of sake. As more customers started filling in during the next few hours, the two buddies continued to update each other about their current life.


	2. The results

Three days had passed since she went to the bar. Nanao Ise was a young woman who had just graduated from University. With her outstanding results she could have easily found a job at any company with a high paying salary.

However, she felt tired of always having to follow the route that her parents had chosen for her. _"I want to do things my way. I do not want to follow in your footsteps."_ She had told her father when he urged her to work in his company.

Mr Yadomaru was the head of the world-renowned Jyutokei Company which had many smaller headquarters all over the world. Although Nanao was not his own flesh and blood, he still treated her like his own daughter. He had a daughter of his own, Lisa Yadomaru who was older than Nanao.

He and his wife were desperate to have another child after Lisa was born. But after a number of failed attempts with AI they decided to adopt one instead.

When he first laid eyes on Nanao at the adoption centre, he knew she was the one. Nanao, who was 7 at that time, was a spirited little girl with long black locks and big blue eyes. The instant she stepped into the room, she walked towards Lisa and the two girls became best friends.

During that first meeting with Nanao, Mr Yadomaru wondered to himself, _"How can she be jumping around so happily when she is in such a state? Why does she have such a strong will despite being alone?"_ After 2 weeks of discussion and signing of official papers, Nanao was introduced into her new home.

That was 17 years ago and now she was a young working adult. After she finished reading the job specifications she filled in her particulars and prepared to leave the house to submit the form.

* * *

Shunsui was typing away on the keyboard furiously. Everyone was out for lunch except him because he had to compile a monthly report and submit it to the chief the next day_. "Alright, it wasn't her fault. After all she did call me to remind me, but I just didn't want to answer it."_ He scolded himself.

If he had taken his secretary's call that day, he wouldn't be stuck in his office writing this stupid report. Just then, his hand phone rang, it was from the dating agency. "Hello, Mr Kyoraku? The results have just been processed. They will be ready by tomorrow. Would you like to make an appointment?"

"Oh, I see. Alright, could you reserve a timeslot for me in the afternoon this Saturday?" he asked. "Yes. Is 2pm convenient for you this Saturday?" "Yes, I'm good. Thanks." He replied. "Thank you for your co-operation. Goodbye." And the line went dead.

"That was fast. I thought they said they needed at least 1 week to process the results." He wondered aloud. "What needed at least 1 week to process?" a voice asked and Shunsui was surprised to see his secretary at the door.

Kiyone Kotetsu was a petite woman with grey eyes and a crop of dark blonde hair. "Didn't I tell you to knock before entering?" Shunsui told her.

"I'm sorry. I just wanted to pass you your lunch. I bought curry rice." Said Kiyone retreating silently before hearing her superior telling her to leave the food on his desk and go back to work.

"_Hai_!" she said happily, placed the food on the table and returned to her seat. An hour passed and he was finally done with the report. As he made his way across the office he thanked Kiyone for the lunch. "You're welcome boss." She answered as she watched the figure of her superior making his way to the chief's office to submit his report.

* * *

"_You got the job, Nanao! Welcome to the crew. You can commence work this Saturday. Please be punctual. Once again, Congratulations! – Ukitake Jushiro"_ she had to re-read the message displayed on her computer to confirm."Yes! I did it! I managed to find a job without any help!" she exclaimed triumphantly and punched her fist into the air.

"Alright! I have to prepare myself for working life starting from now! I shall reward myself by going to the bookstore!" she told herself and changed into her outing clothes to enjoy her pastime – shopping.


	3. New Job

"This is the most suitable candidate from the result. You can have a look at her particulars." the consultant said as she handed Shunsui the paper.

He took his time to read, going through every single line thoroughly. The picture he saw at the top right hand corner was of a demure young woman.

She had raven black hair and wore a pair of red spectacles. Although he personally objected people from wearing those _pesky things_, he could see that she was a rather attractive lady.

"Can we proceed to set a date?" asked the consultant. "Yes, of course." He said. "Will you be alright if the date is set on the first Saturday next month? That is two weeks from now." the consultant enquired.

"Let me check my schedule. Hold on a minute." And he reached into his pocket for his hand phone to check his calendar. "Yes, I will be free on that day."

"Alright. I will inform the other party of the selected date. I will call to inform you after she has given me confirmation. That is all for today. Thank you for taking your time with us." The consultant said and bowed her head slightly.

"No problem. Thank you very much." Shunsui answered before leaving.

* * *

_Ring ring~_ The sound of the bell rang as Nanao pushed open the door.

"We are not open until 6pm. Please come back later." Said the boy who was standing behind the counter.

"I... I'm the new staff here? I was told by Mr Ukitake to come today." Nanao tried to explain to the boy.

"New staff? How come I didn't hear anything about this? Wait here a minute I will get him." The boy told her and disappeared into the basement. A few moments later, he appeared with Jushiro Ukitake.

"Ah, Nanao! It's great to see you again! I apologise for not introducing myself properly the last time. I am Jushiro Ukitake and I'm the owner of this bar. This young man over here is Toshiro Hitsugaya. He is one of the staff here. Rangiku is not around at the moment, you will see her later."

"How do you do? I'm Nanao Ise. _Yoroshiku onegaishimasu._" The two men replied the same greeting to her and Jushiro told her to follow him to the basement while Toshiro went back to cleaning the glasses.

"Here, this is your set of uniform. Since it's your first day here, I will leave you to clean up the place. Just start by doing the simple jobs first. This are your locker keys. I will leave you to change, see you back upstairs in awhile. The toilet is to your right, behind." He mentioned and went out of the room.

Minutes later she emerged from the basement and found herself with the white haired boy Toshiro.

She approached him slowly and thought for awhile before asking: "Nice hair colour. I thought high school students weren't allowed to dye their hair." The boy slammed the glass onto the tabletop at the mention of the word "high school", giving Nanao a fright.

"I'm not in high school! I'm an adult! Here's my proof. See?" he retorted as he took out his identification card to show her his birth date.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't know. You do look young anyway. Not in a bad way." She answered. "Hmmph…" Toshiro snorted and went back to his work.

Suddenly, the door opened and a woman appeared at the door. "Hello boys!" The voluptuous beauty cooed and sashayed in with a group of middle-aged businessmen who had just got off from work.

"Jushiro! We've got customers!" she called out to the owner and turned her attention back to the men before noticing Nanao. "My, my… who is this young lady here? Introduce yourself."

"I'm the new staff here. Nanao Ise." Nanao said.

"Oh, the new staff! Good evening dear. I'm Rangiku Matsumoto. Pleased to meet you." She smiled and went to the corner of the bar to mingle with the customers.

"Toshiro-kun? Is she a…" Nanao whispered to the man who was busy fixing drinks for the customers.

"No, but that's just her personality. She's very open-minded that's why the boss chose her to help out. Without her, this bar would have run out of business a long time ago."He told her. With that brief introduction, Nanao spent the rest of the night trying to get to know her colleagues a little better.


	4. The Date

"The meeting place is at Heaven's café near the Garden plaza at 2pm today. Remember to be punctual." That was the message displayed on his hand phone. The day to meet his match had finally arrived.

Shunsui was starting to feel a little nervous, which was unnatural for him. He was usually very comfortable at getting to know girls – it was his forte. The moment the traffic light turned green, he hurriedly made his way across the plaza towards the café.

To his relief no one was at the table reserved for them yet. He settled down and tried to relax as he waited for his date to arrive.

"Hi, are you Kyoraku Shunsui?" a soft voice came from behind his back and he turned around to see a lady in front of him.

"Yes, I am. Are you Lisa Yadomaru?" he asked. "Yes. I'm really sorry for being late. I had to attend to something earlier." She apologized.

"It's alright, I just arrived here too. Please, seat." He told her and stood up to help her pull out her chair.

"Thank you." She said and they spent the rest of the time getting to know each other.

"I had a really great time today. Thanks." Lisa told Shunsui after they left the café. "I had a great time too. May I give you a ride home?" he offered.

"No, it's alright. I can take the train. I don't want to trouble you." She answered. "No, it's no trouble at all. Please, I insist." He said trying not to sound too persistent.

"If you insist, Thank you." She shrugged her shoulders and smiled.

By the time they reached her house, the sky had already darkened and the streets were lit up by the street lamps. As she unbuckled her seatbelt she thanked him again.

"Thank you so much for seeing me home. Bye." She opened the car door and stepped out. "I'll call you again soon. Take care." He called out to her before driving off.

Standing outside her house, Lisa saw the swishing motion of the curtain closing from her sister's window. She knew what was coming.

* * *

The minute she stepped into her house, she saw Nanao descending from the stairs with a questioning look on her face. "Who was that? Was that your date?" she asked.

"Don't poke your nose into other people's business. That was just a friend." Lisa said in an annoyed voice. "Really? You have a boyfriend? Why didn't you tell us?" Nanao continued. "Not so loud! He's not my boyfriend. He's just a friend!" "Ah, so it was a guy! So you really went on a date!" Nanao said in a surprised voice.

"A date? My Lisa-chan went on a date?" Mr Yadomaru's voice boomed through the whole house. "No dad! It wasn't a date. Nanao is talking nonsense. Don't listen to her words." She tried to evade the questions that were being shot at her.

"That's enough! Leave Lisa alone. If she doesn't want to say it now, she will have to say it later anyway. Stop being such an irritant." Mrs Yadomaru complained as she made her way down the stairs to see what all the commotion was about.

"Yes. You can't force me to say anything I don't want." Lisa told her father and sister before marching up the stairs to her room.

"Does she need to keep it such a mystery? Why can't she just admit that she was on a date? What's the big deal about it?" Nanao said.

"You will do the same thing when you start dating. Everyone wants to hide the fact that they are attached from everyone else." Mr Yadomaru told her before heading for the kitchen to get a pair of wine glasses and bottle of red wine to enjoy it with his wife as they went back to their room to watch the television.

_"I wouldn't be so sure about that. Why would anyone want to hide the fact that they are dating? Might as well say there is no love at all. Does true love truly exists?"_ She thought to herself as she returned to her room.

* * *

To all the readers out there:

As you can see, I've made some slight changes to Nanao's personality as compared to the original. She's a little more open here but she still has her no-nonsense attitude. I hope you all will still enjoy the story though. Thanks.


	5. Bar Fight

Two weeks had passed since Nanao had started work. Her colleagues were nice to her and her job was simple – clean up the tables after the customers had finished. Friday was the busiest day of the week, everyone would go to the bars and clubs to enjoy a Happy Hour session and sometimes it was hard to chase them out when they get drunk.

Today was one of those days. Apparently a regular customer had booked the whole bar to hold a Farewell-cum-Drinking party for his colleague. Ukitake had granted his request but also warned them to watch their language and not to engage in rowdy activities inside his bar. The exact opposite was happening in front of Nanao's eyes right now.

Nanao had no idea what sparked off the fight between the two men who were obviously colleagues but rivals in love or something else.

Their argument hated up until the point when one of them threw his glass of beer on the floor and all hell broke loose after that. The other man jumped at him and started hitting him. Soon, half of the customers were tangled up on the floor, fists flying about and expletives hurled at each other.

"Toshiro, call for help. Be quick!" Jushiro ordered the younger man before approaching the fighting men trying to calm them down.

"We can talk this over. Please cool down." Jushiro said. "This doesn't concern you! Leave us alone!" shouted one of the men and he hurled a punch but missed as Jushiro dodged it. "Please stop fighting. If you want to continue, please do it outside." His voice rose and his eyes flashed with anger.

* * *

_"They are not showing him any respect at all! What's more Jushiro is the owner of this bar. What impertinence those men have."_ Nanao thought as she hid behind the counter for safety.

"You have left me with no choice. Toshiro! Rangiku! Let's do this! Nanao, stay back! Don't come near!" he commanded and the other 2 joined him by his side.

Just then, the door opened and a man stepped in. "Hey! Why didn't anyone invite me to the party?" as he walked towards the crowd, he shrugged off his jacket placed it on a stool and took of his shades. With a look of recognition, Jushiro said:"Shunsui! Where have you been? Don't worry, we have just started only. Come on, join us!"

_"What is he talking about? They are going to fight, not drink!" _Nanao thought and before she could control herself she ran out from behind the counter and stood in the center of the 2 groups. "Please, stop fighting!" she begged the customers.

Suddenly she felt a hand around her waist and found her pulled into the arms of a red-faced uncle who was trying to get fresh with her.

"What the… Get away from me!" Nanao cried out as she kicked his shin causing him to release his grip on her. "Now!" Jushiro yelled and the 4 of them rushed to pin down the group of drunks.

The faint sound of the police car siren grew louder and louder and in a minute a group of police men burst into the bar. After the police handcuffed the rowdy men and filed them out of the bar, they apologized to Jushiro: "We're deeply sorry for not being here as fast as possible to stop them from causing a scene. I hope your business will not be affected by this incident."

As the owner continued to talk with the policemen, Toshiro and Rangiku helped to clean the beer-soaked floor while Nanao helped to arrange the furniture in order.

"Are you alright? Did you hurt yourself anywhere?" she heard Shunsui asking her. "No, I'm fine thank you." She answered as she looked at him trying to remember where she saw his face. "You look very familiar. Have we met before?" she asked.

For a moment Shunsui had a puzzled look on his face when suddenly it lit up:"Yes, we met before! It was that time when I startled you by opening the door. Do you remember?" "Ah, yes. So you were that man. I see." She laughed as she recalled that incident.

"I'm sorry for not introducing myself earlier. I'm Shunsui Kyoraku." He said. "I'm Nanao. Nice to meet you." She replied.

"Would you two quit chatting and help to clear arrange the tables quickly?" Toshiro grumbled in an irritated voice. Nanao blushed in embarrassment as she hurriedly went back to work.

Afterward Shunsui went along with Jushiro and Rangiku for supper leaving the 2 youngsters to tidy up the bar.

* * *

To all the readers out there:

If you were wondering how Shunsui showed up at the bar, Toshiro was the one who told him about a "party" so he appeared. I apologize if some parts are a little abrupt. I will work hard in the following chapters. Do continue reading if you like what you see! Thank you for your kind reviews.


	6. A Short Vacation

It was a quiet night at the bar. A month had passed ever since that bar-fight and their sales had decreased. The patrons that came were mostly the regulars and only a handful of new customers.

"Maybe we should take a break soon. It's hard to carry on with only a few customers around." Jushiro stated to the rest of the crew.

"That's a good idea! Maybe we should all go for a summer vacation together! I want to go to the beach!" Rangiku suggested.

"Well, we can either take a break now, during summer or wait until winter. Which do you want?" Jushiro asked. "I hate summer. I'd rather go during the winter." Toshiro said. "What about you Nanao? Do you want a summer break or a winter break?" Jushiro asked her.

"I'm alright with both actually. But if I had to choose one I would choose the summer break?" she answered and looked down at the floor to avoid Toshiro's death glare.

"Alright, so we are 3 against 1. Come on Shiro-chan! Join us, it will be fun. We will have a short vacation. We can relax at the beach!" Jushiro tried to pacify the younger man.

But Toshiro was still unmoved. "Let him be! If he doesn't want to come along we can have bigger portions of the watermelon!" taunted Rangiku.

At the sound of the word "watermelon" Toshiro immediately declared that he was going to join them and they could not leave him out.

* * *

Shunsui was trying to do his work on his laptop when he received a call from Jushiro asking him if he was free to join them. "Sure. When is it?" he asked.

"We will be going to the beach from the 7 to 9 July. We will rent a couple of rooms at the chalet there." Jushiro told him. "Great. Catch up with you again soon!" Shunsui said and ended the call.

He wondered if it was a good idea to invite Lisa too. It had been a month since they got together and he wanted to share the good news with everyone. "I should call her to ask." He thought to himself.

After lunch, Shunsui went to find his secretary. "Kiyone, please help me re-schedule any appointments that I have from the 7 to 9 July. I will be on leave during that period. Thanks." He told her.

"But, you have an important meeting with the Board of Directors on 8July. You can't cancel that appointment." She informed him.

"Just tell them I will be sick that day. Come up with any excuse, whatever." He waved her off and headed back to his office.

Kiyone sighed and shook her head, _"He never learns. Never learns at all." _She thought.

"Hey Lisa, will you free on the 7 to 9 July?" he asked. "I'm afraid I won't be free. I have an important project on. Why do you ask?" She replied.

"Oh, ok. I wanted to ask you to accompany me on a vacation." He told her. "I see. Where will you be heading to?"

"I will be going with my friends to the beach. Are you sure you don't want to come?" "Yes, I'm sorry. Have fun on your vacation."

"Ok. Don't forget our movie date next week." He reminded her.

"Of course, I'll remember dear. See you soon, Bye."

With the end of the phone call he smiled happily at the thought of the progress that he had made with Lisa.

* * *

"Alright, it's settled then. We will be going to the beach on the 7 to 9 next month. Shunsui will be joining us too." Jushiro told the others after he placed the phone back on the receiver.

_"Shunsui? Him again?"_ Nanao wondered.

Was it coincidence or what? She didn't know what to make of the news, but she hoped there wouldn't be any incidents to cause her embarrassment again.

As the saying goes, once bitten twice shy. She didn't want to think about the third time.

"Can we invite our friends along?" Rangiku asked. "Sure, but only if they are free." He told them.

"Alright! Then I shall pull some of my friends along. I could introduce some guys to you too Nanao." She laughed.

Nanao didn't know what to say so she gave a shy smile and returned back to work.


	7. Day 1

Nanao's excitement was growing day by day. She had been crossing out each passing day on her calendar for the past week.

"_How long has it been since I went on a holiday? I wonder what they will do there"._ She thought to herself as she looked at the dates circled in red when she remembered.

"Ah, how could I forget? My birthday is on 7th ." she smiled and with that she went on with the week with even more gusto.

"_Remember to be here at 10am sharp tomorrow. We will be leaving as early as possible to book rooms. See you!" _Jushiro sent the following text message to inform his 3 staff members and old buddy, Shunsui. "Tomorrow. It's finally here! I can't wait." Nanao said to herself as she went down the stairs towards the dining area for dinner.

"Can't wait for what?" asked Lisa. "I'll be going on a vacation with my colleagues tomorrow for 3 days. I can't wait." Nanao answered her sister.

"Oh, I see. Have fun then." Lisa said. Nanao nodded her head in acknowledgement and settled down to eat her dinner.

* * *

On the morning of the trip, Nanao woke up extra early to check that she had brought enough clothes and necessities before calling her friend, Momo Hinamori to remind her to meet at Nanao's house before meeting the rest at the bar.

After she had checked that everything was packed she washed up and went to take her breakfast. "Have a great time at the beach dear!" her father told her after eating.

"Sure, I will. Thanks." She smiled and cleared the table before getting her bags and left her house.

"Momo! You're early. Why didn't you call?" She said when she saw her friend waiting outside her house the moment she opened the front door. "Who are those guys behind?"

"Ah Nanao. I'm sorry for not calling you. Is it alright if my friends tagged along? I told them it wasn't a good idea but they insisted." She told Nanao.

"It's alright I guess. As long as you guys are free you're invited to come along." She told the two men.

"Thanks a bunch! I'm Abarai Renji and this is Izuru Kira." The red-haired man said who pointed to the blonde-hair standing next to him.

"Hello, I'm Nanao. Pleased to meet you." She greeted them and quickly brought them to the bar to join the others.

As the group reached there, Jushiro and Toshiro were already waiting.

"Is that you Momo?" asked Toshiro when he saw a familiar face. "Hitsugaya-kun! What a surprise to see you."

"Do you two know each other?" Nanao asked Momo. "Yeah, we're childhood friends."

As everyone was starting to converse with one another, they heard the sound of a car horn and turned behind to see a car.

"Good morning, everybody! Sorry I'm late. These two were dragging their feet." She told the rest as she pulled two guys out of the car.

"This is Ichimaru Gin and this is Shuhei Hisagi." Rangiku pointed to the silver haired man and the black-haired figure that had scars on his face next to him respectively.

"You forgot about me!" a voice came from the driver's seat in the car. "Ah, yes. I met Shunsui along the way and he gave us a lift here."

"Alright, we better start moving now. Let's not waste time anymore. Let's go! Come on!" Jushiro announced and started to herd everyone to the waiting cars.

By the time they reached the chalet, it was already 1pm. As Jushiro and Shunsui were booking the rooms at the counter, the rest of the group were planning the itinerary. After they checked into their rooms, the whole group headed out to the beach.

While Renji, Kira, Hisagi and Toshiro were playing Frisbee, Nanao and the rest went to buy food and utensils to prepare for the BBQ dinner.

After buying everything they returned to the BBQ pit near the beach and started the fire to cook. The night ended with everyone enjoying themselves over grilled chicken, corn, sweet potato and beer.


	8. Day 2

The next morning, Nanao woke up to find herself in a room of motionless bodies. She found Renji, Kira and Momo lying on the beds next to her, still sound asleep.

Careful not to wake them, she made her way out of bed to the toilet on tip-toe. After washing up, she came out and saw Toshiro entering the room informing her about the days' plan.

"We will be split into two groups. One group will go on a boat ride around the island while the rest can go on a walk around the island. You can choose any one but the boat only can hold a maximum of 30 people. Help to wake the rest if they're still sleeping."

"Ok. I'll tell them. Thanks. See you downstairs." Replied Nanao and she went to wake the rest up.

At 11am, they emerged from the room and headed downstairs to meet the rest of them. "Have you decided whether you want to go on foot or by boat?" Jushiro asked.

"Yes, I and Kira are going to walk." Renji announced. "I'm coming along." Hisagi said. "Alright, I will join them as well. The rest of you can take the boat. There should be enough places left. You better go now, the boat leaves at 12 sharp. We will meet at the seafood restaurant for dinner. Have fun!" Jushiro told them.

* * *

15 minutes after boarding the boat, they were off to get a scenic view of the island. The boat was fully packed and since they were the last few to go on board they had no choice but to hang around on the deck as there was no space.

"Wow… the weather is so nice! The wind is so refreshing!" Rangiku gushed as she leaned against the railings to take in the sight of the scenery.

As she chatted with Gin at the deck area, Toshiro and Momo went to explore the boat while Nanao and Shunsui were an arm's length away from the other couple.

"The sound of the waves and the smell of the sea makes me want to go fishing. Ah, this is the best feeling I've felt in all these years." Shunsui said.

"Do you go fishing often?" asked Nanao out of curiosity.

"Yeah, it's been awhile though. I go fishing with Jushiro in our free time. Grilled fish and junmai-shu are the best when consumed together." Shunsui told her. "Why do you ask? Do you like fishing as well?"

"No. I don't know how to. But my father does. He liked to fish and would bring back some good catches for dinner whenever he went fishing. That was years ago actually." She shared with him.

"Ah, I see. Where does he normally go?"

"He normally heads down to Yokohama to fish when he has a lot of free time. But when he doesn't have much time to spare, he would go to Tokyo Bay because it's nearer."

"Oh, I see. Yokohama. That's a good spot. Tokyo Bay is not bad either. The view is terrific there."

Nanao smiled but didn't say anything. She wasn't exactly interested in fishing, but she didn't want to be rude by changing the subject suddenly.

* * *

As she was racking her brains trying to think of a topic to talk about, he suddenly spoke: "Look! There are seagulls over there!" and he pointed to the birds that were causing a commotion.

Nanao turned around and saw a flock of seagulls that were flying near the boat, each bird fighting with each other for pieces of breadcrumbs that were thrown towards them by a bunch of playful children. "They are so cute. Wow! I've never seen one so close before." Nanao said as she walked closer towards the animals.

"Be careful! They might scratch you if you go too close to them." Shunsui warned the children as he followed behind. Suddenly a seagull cried and started scratching a boy who was standing near the group. The child was crying and trying to cover his face to avoid the bird's attack.

With a swift motion, Shunsui brushed the bird off and the rest of the flock flew away leaving a group of startled kids and the poor boy crying.

"Are you alright boy? It's ok. The bird is gone. Let me take a look at your injury." Shunsui told the boy gently.

"He's got a cut on his forehead. We better get a first aid kit." Nanao exclaimed when she saw the boy and she ran off to the captain to tell him what had happened.

A few minutes later, she came back with the first aid kit and helped Shunsui to apply disinfectant on the boy's wound. "Here, put a plaster on him." Shunsui told Nanao and did it.

"There you go. Are you feeling better?" Shunsui asked the child."Yes. Thank you very much uncle." The boy bowed and ran to his mother who was waiting by his side, thankful that her son's injury was just a minor one.

"Thank you so much for your help. Thank you for helping my son." The woman thanked Shunsui and Nanao.

"It's not a problem. You're welcome. Please, take care." Shunsui told the woman_._

_"He's quite a gentleman. I didn't think he would be so helpful."_ Nanao thought to herself.

"You're so lucky, young lady. To have such a man as your boyfriend." An older woman who was part of the audience who saw what had happened earlier told Nanao.

"Eh? No, no. He's not my boyfriend." She explained.

"That's right granny. We are not an item. I'm already attached." He smiled at the old woman.

_"He has a girlfriend? Oh, I thought it was weird if he didn't have one. That's expected since he frequents the bars a lot. I wonder what his girlfriend is like."_ Nanao figured.

It would be rude of her to pry into his personal affairs so she decided not to ask.

"I should go find Momo, I wonder where she went…" Nanao said to Shunsui and left him to talk with Rangiku and Gin.

* * *

Half an hour later, the boat arrived back at the port and they proceeded to the seafood restaurant where their dinner awaited them.

As the whole group settled down at the big round table reserved for them, they started exchanging remarks about how their day went.

"There were an awful lot of mosquitoes! I think I got bitten by a few of them. Next time I rather take the boat." Kira complained and got whacked on the head by Renji. "You ingrate!" and the two started quarrelling as the rest started laughing and joking about their experience.

Jushiro cleared his throat before he spoke: "I have something to announce. The reason why we are here for dinner today is to hold a birthday celebration for two people."

"Whose birthday is it?" Rangiku asked.

"Yesterday was actually Nanao's birthday but we didn't have time to celebrate."

"Then, who is the other person?"

"That would be my good friend, Shunsui. I just wanted to give him an early birthday surprise." Jushiro said and raised his glass gesturing the others to follow him.

"Happy Birthday to Nanao and Shunsui! Kanpai!" everyone cheered and clinked their glasses.

Not long after, the food arrived and they laid their eyes on a scrumptious feast. "Wow! There are crabs! And abalone as well!" Kira said excitedly and said his thanks before digging in.

The rest joined in seconds later, everyone attacking the crab. "It's delicious. Really superb." Hisagi said.

"We should call for more drinks. Let's order some beer!" Jushiro said to the delight of the males except Toshiro.

One and a half hours later, they left the restaurant happy and contented after eating their fill.

"It was a great dinner. I really enjoyed myself. Thanks a lot Jushiro." Renji thanked him on the behalf of everyone else.

"Yeah, I'm glad everyone enjoyed themselves. It's getting late, better get some sleep now. Tomorrow is our last day so we will have something better in store! Good night!" Jushiro told the rest and everyone went back to their rooms to get a good night's rest.


	9. Day 3

The third day started off bad. Nanao was woken up by loud claps of thunder that came along with the occasional flashes of lightning.

When she looked out of the window, the sky was a murky grey colour and the absence of the sun made the weather somewhat creepier_._

_"It's like a scene from a horror show."_ She thought and shivered as the air conditioner blew a gust of icy cold wind at her.

An hour later, the rest of her room-mates had awakened and were chattering about what to do for the rest of the day.

"There's no way we can go out today. The weather is terrible. We are stuck in here." Kira whined.

"Perhaps we could have an indoor sports tournament? Let's play futsal!" Renji said excitedly.

"Just for once, can you stop talking about football?" Momo complained. "Football and futsal are not the same! They are…" Renji barked at her and the two started quarrelling.

In the middle of the quarrel, Toshiro came into the room and told them to meet the others at Jushiro's room after they were done washing up.

"I'm really sorry we can't go outdoors today because of the sudden change in weather. Does anyone have an idea what we should do today?" Jushiro asked the rest for ideas.

There was a moment of silence as everyone was thinking hard then Gin spoke: "I know. What about we tell some ghost stories? It would be fun; the atmosphere is just perfect for it." He said with a sly smile.

Even though almost everyone did not want to hear ghost stories, no one dared to rebel against Gin's idea and Nanao soon found herself sitting with everyone in a circle in the room listening to it.

* * *

Nanao wasn't too sure about the others, but she was certain that she was shivering from the cold air in the room and not from Gin's ghost story.

She was sitting in between Renji and Kira who were both obviously scared out of their wits by the story but pretended to be brave always asking Gin what would happen next. Momo, who was sitting on the other side next to Renji, was covering her ears trying not to hear the gruesome killings that the people in the story faced.

Toshiro found the story to be a bore so he left half-way to find Hisagi who was in another room playing his guitar. The latter too wasn't a fan of such paranormal stories. Jushiro and Rangiku had left the circle to get some snacks. Nanao did not know where Shunsui was; perhaps he was out for a drink again.

A few minutes passed and then the pair came back with some snacks for everyone.

"Just as he was about leave, he heard the sound of his name being called from behind him. As he turned around, he came face to face with the…"

"BOO!" The shout sent Momo screaming and scuttling for the blanket.

Peals of laughter burst out as everyone watched her trying to tackle Toshiro who was the one who had crept up silently behind her and gave her a shock. "You idiot!" Momo shouted at him and started tickling him. "I'm sorry! Sorry! Stop it please!" Toshiro begged her as he tried to run away.

"They are still the same as always. Still behaving like kids." Jushiro laughed as he commented on the young couple who were chasing each other around.

Gin, who was temporarily forgotten after the scaring session, said in a displeased tone, "Aren't you going to let me continue my story? Or are we going to sit here watching those two idiots running about?" and crossed his arms.

"Oh, continue. You were saying?" Rangiku replied. Taking 10 seconds to assess the current situation, Gin said: "Forget it. It looks like no one has any interest in my story anyway." And he left the room to get some fresh air.

* * *

By the time the rain stopped, the day was already over and night was beginning to settle in.

"Hey, do you want to come along? We are going to light some firecrackers tonight." Nanao heard some children talking among themselves as they went past the room.

_"Firecrackers." _she thought and had an idea. She told the others to meet her and Momo at the beachside after their dinner.

An hour later, she and Momo came out from the store and headed straight to the beach.

"What's the occasion?" Hisagi asked. "Well, since today we couldn't enjoy ourselves in the day we can do so now! Let's play with the sparklers and firecrackers." Nanao told them. "_Senko Hanabi_! It's been a long time since I played with those!" Rangiku squealed in delight as she hurried towards the bag full of sparklers.

The men who thought that sparklers were meant for kids scoffed at the females in the group as they giggled and stared in awe at the explosion of bright lights in the night sky. "Come on Gin. Don't just stand there. Come and light a sparkler too." Rangiku urged her friend but he just waved her away and sat at the bench watching the colourful lights in the sky.

"It was so fun! Thanks Nanao. I had a blast today." Rangiku told her and gave her a bear hug. "Ah, you're welcome." Nanao said who was almost crushed by her friend's weight. "Unfortunately, we're leaving first thing tomorrow morning. We will be back to work again." Rangiku lamented.

"Jushiro! Can we have another outing like this next year? I want to come here again!" she asked while he just smiled and shrugged his shoulders.

"Perhaps when we are free next time." Nanao reassured Rangiku.

Her friend nodded in agreement and they went to join the others who were heading back to the chalet to pack their belongings for the next day before hitting the sack.


	10. Back Home

The moment he reached home, Shunsui dumped his bag on the chair at his work desk and lay on the bed. He was tired after that two hour drive from the beach and another hour's journey back to his house. "But I had a really good time the past 3 days. I wish Lisa would have been there though." He thought.

Just then his phone rang, _"it must be Lisa!" _he thought and answered the phone only to find out that it was his secretary. "Oh, it's you. What is it?" he asked.

"Boss, since you missed the meeting with the Board of Directors, the other directors have been unhappy about your performance. You might lose your position!" Kiyone told him anxiously.

"What?" he asked.

Kiyone then told him about how the other higher ups were displeased about his work attitude, just rushing through with reports and never keeping an eye on his subordinates. 30 minutes after listening to her, he told her: "Thanks for informing me. I'll try to do something when I come back tomorrow."

With a sigh of expiration he disengaged the call and went back to bed. For the past ten years, he had been working at the same company. He had started out as an assistant to the former Managing Director until he resigned and Shunsui had no choice but to take his place. Nobody else wanted to be the Head because they would always be the ones who take the rap if anything goes wrong.

Just recently, Shunsui was wondering if he was cut out for this type of job. He actually envied Jushiro for being able to start his own business and enjoying his life, taking each day as it comes. It was not the same in the office where everyone would keep to themselves rushing to hand in paperwork and answering phone calls, and the only time they had a break was at lunch. One could either choose that precious one hour to eat or get a smoke; if they had more time maybe both.

"_God, I'm tired of this. Maybe I should just quit, get a wife and settle down quickly. Otherwise, I would be stuck listening to her nagging for the rest of my life."_ He contemplated.

"No wait, I'm not so desperate as that. Besides, I'm the one who is getting married not my mother." He told himself. "I better think of what I should do when I get to work tomorrow."

* * *

The next day when he stepped into the office he was greeted by the sight of the President. _"This isn't a good sign." _He thought as he bowed towards the President and went to his desk. Kiyone approached his office and informed him that the President wanted to see him in his office.

"Come in." the voice came from inside and Shunsui opened the door. "Kyoraku Shunsui. Have a seat please." the President ordered.

Sasakibe Chojiro was a man of few words. He was the Head of Kinreite Company for the past 30 years and commanded authority from everyone wherever he went. Chojiro had a love for all things Western and the business had many branches worldwide especially in Europe and America.

"I've heard some complaints from the others about your behavior at work. You had shown a splendid performance over the last few years but recently it has begun to change. Is there anything wrong?"

"No sir. Everything's fine. I was just tired that's why so I fell back a bit. I'm sorry."

"I see. Well, we are going to sign a deal with the famous Gold Bank in the US this week so I want you to get back on your feet. You will join the rest of the Board to meet the other party to secure the deal. Don't let the Jyutokei Company get it."

"Yes sir." Said Shunsui and he left the room.

* * *

To all the readers:

I'm sorry for the long delay. I will try to update my story every 3 weeks now as I'm busy with school. Sorry for the inconvenience caused.


	11. The Errand

It was a bright Saturday morning and the whole Yadomaru household was already awaken except for one person. Lisa stirred in her sleep and after a couple of minutes she slowly opened her eyes. She had worked overtime the previous night and was so tired that she had to drag herself into the washroom to take a bath. She gave her teeth a quick brush before throwing herself onto her bed and entered into a deep slumber immediately.

"Good morning." She said and yawned loudly as she came down from the stairs and approached the dining hall. "Had a late night yesterday?" asked her mother. Lisa nodded and took her sear before reaching out for the glass of orange juice. "Poor thing. Well, you should have a good rest today since it's the weekend." Her mother told her and went into the kitchen to make some breakfast for her daughter.

"Good morning sis! I'm going to the bookstore now. See you later." Nanao said to Lisa as she was walking down the stairs from her bedroom.

"The bookstore? What day is it today?" Lisa asked. "It's the second Saturday of the month. Why?"

"Yes! It's out already. Could you please help me buy that magazine Nanao? I'll repay you the money later."

"What? _That_ _magazine_? No way! I'm not going to help you again!"

"Please Nanao. Just help me this once again. Please." Lisa pleaded.

"No! I'm not going to. Why can't you just go down to the store and buy it yourself? I don't want to do it!" Nanao cried out.

"I'm tired. Please, I got home only after midnight yesterday. I still want to sleep later. Please Nanao. Just help me get it okay? Alright, I will make a deal. I will repay you the amount that you spend on books and my magazine later. I will pay everything for you. Is that good with you?"

Without any second thoughts, Nanao readily agreed and left the house on her errand.

* * *

She took half an hour to walk to the bookstore from her house. As she pushed open the door the bell tinkled and the storekeeper who recognized her greeted her.

She nodded and made her way quietly to a corner of the store to look for her book. She spent the next hour scoring the bookstore for self-help books on cocktail drinks to familiarize herself with the drinks at the bar.

Occasionally she would turn towards the magazine section to check if there was anybody there. It was a rather quiet day at the bookstore that day.

There were a group of high school boys in the magazine section and a few other customers looking at the cookery book section and home décor section.

Just then she saw the storekeeper motioning to her to come towards the counter. "Are you looking for this?" he asked and pulled out a magazine from below the counter table.

"Yes. That's the one. It's the latest issue right?" "Yes it is. Do you want that too?" He pointed to the other books that Nanao was holding on to.

"Yes please." As she was preparing to take out money to pay for her purchase she heard a voice from behind her. "I didn't know you were interested in that type of book."

When she turned around she almost jumped out of her skin at the sight of Shunsui standing behind her.

After accepting the change and taking her books she left the store with him following closely behind her. "You… what are you doing here?" she spluttered.

"I'm just taking walk around. I didn't expect to see you in there. And you even bought an ero-magazine…"

"That's not mine! It's for someone else!" she said hurriedly and she felt her cheeks redden. She couldn't believe that she was seen by someone buying that sort of magazine.

"_And of all people why must it be him? Oh my god. Lisa is going to owe me big time for this"._ Nanao thought.

Shunsui chuckled as he saw her expression on her face. "Come on. You don't have to be shy about this kind of stuff. Everyone has read that kind of thing before. Even the high school kids were looking at it! But I guess the saying is true, don't judge a book by its cover. You never know that a wolf may be hiding in a sheep disguise." He told her.

_"What? Am I a wolf in sheep clothing? "_ she thought and felt offended about his impression of her.

"I'm sorry; I can't talk with you now. I've got to go back home. Bye." She told him curtly and went her way.

Shunsui watched as the young woman walked away and smiled to himself. He didn't think he would meet her again so soon.

"See you at the bar Nanao." He said and turned to leave the spot where they stood for the past five minutes.


	12. Starting Afresh

It had been a week since Shunsui had become jobless. After the deal signing with the bank Shunsui had left the company without a word.

His colleagues were taken aback by the news but none felt worse than Kiyone. She was upset about his leaving the company.

Although she didn't mind his absence when he was away on the vacation to the beach before, it was all too sudden when she heard that he was leaving the company for good.

"I don't know what your reasons are for leaving but I do hope you will work harder at your new job and stay with it as long as possible. I hope you will be able to find a job as soon as possible. I wish you all the best in your future." That was what she had told her former boss.

"Thank you Kiyone. You were a great help to me all these years here. Take care." He told her.

She smiled and bowed as he walked away from the company building without leaving any trace of his existence behind.

* * *

In the middle of the week had gone to visit Jushiro to chat with him and also told him about his current situation.

"That's it then. You've finally got out of there huh? I could see you weren't that type to be stuck in an office all day from the first day you told me you got the job though." His good friend told him and Shunsui joined him in laughter as the both of them knew it was true.

"Why do you wait until now to quit? You could have done it earlier right? What's with the hold back?" Jushiro asked.

After a few seconds of thinking Shunsui said:"I don't know, really. I guess I just found a great opportunity to get me out of there so I took it." "And what is that opportunity?"

"Your bar. I could work here right? Come on man. You can trust me, and I'm not doing this for money."

"If it's not money, then it's a woman right? Not again Shunsui. A leopard never changes its spots." "How... no, it's not the point! Anyway, we have been pals since way back. I'll help you for free about that? You don't have to pay me a cent." Shunsui bargained.

But Jushiro was firm and didn't succumb to his friend's plead.

Before he left the bar he told Jushiro:"I will be back. I won't give up that easily." Jushiro smiled at the comment and shook his head in disbelief.

Shunsui would always be Shunsui. Strong-headedness was one of his traits. Jushiro had a faint idea what his friend was thinking.

He was quite easy to read when it came to chasing women. It was unfortunate that his opponent would be rather hard to handle or was it not?

* * *

A few days later, Shunsui reappeared at the bar. "I know what you're going to ask me and my answer will be the same. No." Jushiro told him before Shunsui could say a word.

"Alright. I shan't ask you. I just came to tell you that I've found a job elsewhere already." "What? This is so unlike you. Are you giving up already?" Jushiro asked incredulously.

"Nope, I have not given up yet. I just found a vacancy at a DVD rental shop. The hours are quite relaxed too."

"I thought you wanted to start your own business? What's this about working at a DVD rental shop?"

After a few minutes of silence Jushiro spoke up:"Look, I think its fine. I will give you a job here but your pay is the same as the others."

"Really? Alright, thanks man! I knew you were a kind soul." He said and left. After his friend left, it dawned on Jushiro that Shunsui had tricked him into landing him a job.

_That sly fox. He always has tricks up his sleeves. _Jushiro shook his head and laughed as he thought of how easily he was set up by his friend.

Shunsui on the other hand was feeling so happy that everything was going according to plan.

He wasn't exactly two-timing, or that was what he felt. Besides, he was just interested in this girl whom he was obviously attracted to but they both didn't realize it.

Lisa and Nanao shared a similar appearance with the hair and the spectacles but their personalities were the total opposite of each other.

_Could they be related to each other in some way? Are the friends?_ Shunsui thought as the faces of the two women occupied his mind the entire night and he fell asleep exhausted by too much thinking.


	13. A Surprise

"Gather round everyone. I have an important announcement to make." Jushiro said and motioned for his co-workers to meet at the back room of the bar.

"We will be closed this Friday but I want everyone to meet me at this hotel's restaurant for dinner at 6pm. I'm going to throw a welcome party." Jushiro said and passed each one a piece of paper with the address scribbled down.

"Eh? Wow, it's a high class restaurant! Who is the newcomer?" Rangiku asked excitedly. "You will know once you reach there. The party is also held for Nanao, since I didn't have time to arrange a welcome party for you previously." Jushiro said and smiled apologetically to her.

"It's alright. Thanks for your kind thought." Nanao told him. "Alright, that's all. Let's get back to work now." He told them and they went back to their stations.

The rest of the week passed in a blink of an eye and soon it was Friday. Nanao was a little anxious but excited at the thought of going for the party. It was her first time going to such an expensive restaurant for dinner.

"_We are so lucky to have such a generous boss. I guess he must have saved up enough money and thought of spending it on others. How thoughtful." _She thought.

She reached the front of the restaurant ten minutes before the appointed time. About five minutes later she saw Jushiro and Toshiro walking towards her. They were all dressed up handsomely in a tuxedo each. The trio waited for another fifteen minutes before they saw a taxi stop at the curb and Rangiku appearing from there.

"You're late!" Toshiro complained. "Sorry! I was busy preparing. I have to look my best since I'm coming to such a grand restaurant, you know. Come on, let's not waste time anymore. Let's get in." She said in an unapologetic manner and proceeded to enter the hotel.

"Who was the one who wasted our time in the first place?" Toshiro grumbled as he followed the rest.

* * *

"We have a reserved table under the name of Shunsui Kyoraku." Jushiro told the waiter. The waiter checked the guest list and quickly showed them to their table.

"_Shunsui Kyoraku? Not him again? Why is this happening? Oh my god…" _Nanao was taken aback when she heard his name. She was wishing that she wouldn't have to meet him again. _"He's trouble. I hope nothing goes wrong later. Please, please let everything be alright." _And repeated that thought in her mind over and over throughout the whole dinner.

When they reached the table Shunsui was already there waiting and he stood up to greet them happily when he saw the group. "Hey, you are early! The buffet doesn't start until 7pm."

"As you can see our newcomer is Shunsui. He will be joining us from next Monday onwards. Please take care of him." Jushiro told them.

"_Yoroshiku_."Shunsui said and bowed slightly to the rest. Everyone bowed back in respect before taking their seats. They spent the next 45 minutes chatting while waiting for the buffet to be prepared.

As soon as the food were laid out on the long tables, a waitress rang a bell signaling the start of the buffet session and everyone started lining up to take their food. After she took a small portion of different kind of foods, Nanao went back to her seat.

"We should have invited Renji and the rest of them here. It's such a waste, there are so few of us here." Rangiku mentioned suddenly mid-way through the dinner. At the mention of it everybody recalled the fun times they had spent at the beach.

* * *

"Ah, it was raining on the last day remember? We ended up listening to Gin's ghost story." Jushiro said and laughed. "If I'm not wrong you weren't around that time right Shunsui?" "What? Oh, that. Yeah, I went out for awhile."

"Hah, you don't say. You're afraid of ghost stories right? I remember when we were in University…" before he could continue his friend told him to shut up and the two men started arguing.

It was obvious Jushiro was out to embarrass Shunsui and the latter was trying hard to act as if he was not bothered by the fact that he was afraid of horror stories.

_"He's scared of horror stories? He certainly doesn't look like that. What a surprise." _Nanao thought and tried to suppress her laughter.

"Does your girlfriend know that you hate horror? It would be weird if a guy was afraid to watch a horror movie; usually it's the girls that freak out at the idea." Toshiro spoke suddenly. "Oh, you are attached? Who is she? What's her name?" Rangiku asked nosily.

"Lisa. Her name's Lisa Yadomaru." He replied.

* * *

The moment she heard his answer, Nanao choked on her food and started coughing, she quickly took the napkin to wipe her mouth.

She couldn't believe what she was hearing. Perhaps she had heard wrongly. _What? Lisa? Lisa Yadomaru?_

"Are you alright Nanao? You look like you had a shock." Jushiro asked worriedly.

"I'm alright. Sorry, I need to use the washroom for awhile." She excused herself and left the table.

Nanao's mind was blank and she tried to fit the pieces of the picture together.

_My sister is with that man. And now he's my colleague. Oh my god. I must be dreaming. This is not real. This is not happening to me. I better be dreaming. _She told herself and pinched her arm only to wince in pain.

Slowly, she opened her eyes and the reality began to set in. _This is not a dream. I guess it's true, my sister is attached. And of all the men in this world, him!_

She spent the next couple of minutes to compose herself and when she emerged from the toilet she saw the rest of them starting to tuck in to their dessert.

"You were in there for so long I wanted to go in to find you. Are you alright?" asked Rangiku in a concerned voice.

"Yeah, I'm fine." She told her and started eating her ice-cream.

After an hour and a half, the group came out of the hotel's front doors.

"That was a great dinner! Thanks for the treat boss!" Rangiku said to Jushiro. "Thanks for turning up too. Better late than never, but don't do the same for work." He warned her and waved to the rest as they each made their way home, leaving him and Shunsui alone.

"Thank you for the treat. I wouldn't be able to come up with such a sum for all of us if it wasn't for you." He said to his friend.

Shunsui just smiled and both men exchanged goodbyes before heading separate ways back home.

* * *

The rest of the night, Nanao couldn't fall asleep. Her mind whirled around trying to sort the facts out.

She couldn't breathe a word about her discovery otherwise it would be awkward to face her sister and her _boyfriend_.

She couldn't understand how the two of them got together in the first place.

I _can't let him know that I'm Lisa's sister. She mustn't know that I'm in the same workplace as well. It's a secret I will have to keep to myself._ She told herself.

With that reminder in her head she fell into a fitful sleep.


	14. Movie Date

Jushiro ordered for Rangiku to be in charge of showing the ropes to Shunsui as he felt that Nanao was still new to the job although she had been working there for almost three months.

Shunsui was just the right person to help them pull in the crowds. He would help to attract more customers like what Rangiku did, except that she was to attract men and him to women, of course.

It was his specialty and Jushiro could be assured that investing in his friend's help was one of the smartest choices he had made so far.

_Thank goodness he's not going to be in so often, otherwise he would just be an annoying pest._ Nanao thought as she cleared the tables for the next customer to settle down. Not long the last customers where out of the shop and everyone began to clean up the place.

"Good work everyone! Especially you, Shunsui. I didn't think you would be able to handle those customers back there." Jushiro told him.

"It was nothing. You know how I'm good at those things right?" Shunsui said and laughed.

_Those women were practically all over him. My god! Just what do they see in him? What does my sister see in him at all? This is just so bad._ Nanao thought and frowned as she tried to work her way to understand how they managed to be together. She shook her head in dismay, she was totally clueless.

* * *

A week later Lisa was on the phone with Shunsui discussing on which movie to watch during the weekend as she was free. "So, I was thinking perhaps we could go and see a thriller or a horror show. Which do you want to see?"

"I'm fine with anything really. Perhaps we could watch a comedy or romance movie? I heard it's quite good." he said trying to steer her away from the subject.

"I don't want. I hate comedy and romance is so boring. But if there were any rated ones I wouldn't mind."

"Hmm… I wouldn't mind a thriller."

"Alright! Let's catch that this coming Saturday ok? We will meet at the Garden Plaza for lunch before watching the movie."

"Ok. Sure."

"See you then! Bye dear."

"Bye." The line went off and Shunsui stared at his phone blankly.

_Shit, why didn't I say something else? I could have objected her idea. I don't want to watch it. Damn, we should have just gone shopping. I wouldn't mind that._ He berated himself.

"Forget it. It's just a show. It's just fiction. Fiction." He said.

Saturday morning came and Lisa was preparing to leave the house for her movie date.

"Have a nice time sis! Enjoy your movie!" Nanao told her as she was making her way out of the house. Lisa smiled, "Thanks. I will." She said before shutting the door behind her.

* * *

A few hours later…

"How did you find the show? It was really exciting wasn't it?" Lisa asked. "Mm… yeah, it was cool." Shunsui answered.

In actual fact he was at the edge of his seat the whole time during the show. There was too many scenes with gore and he couldn't take he had to look away and pretend to check if he had dropped something on the floor or if his mobile phone was switched off.

On the whole, he hated violence and he wouldn't be able to take it if he saw any physical assault happening, despite being a good fighter himself. Instead he preferred peace and harmony as it suited him rather well, being a very romantic person as he is.

"I was hoping more action rather than just all that empty suspense." Lisa said as they walked out of the theatre.

"I'll send you back. Wait here for me while I go get my car." He told her and left her at the curb while he went to the parking lot to fetch his vehicle.

Nanao was returning home after doing some grocery shopping. As she was walking up the slope to their house she saw a car pass-by her and saw her sister in it.

"Oh my... isn't that Lisa? I can't go back now." she told herself and alarm bells were going off in her mind.

The sound of the car door opened and she heard Lisa saying goodbye before slamming the door close. Nanao heard the sound of the car reversing and the wheels screeching before the car came by her again.

She had hidden herself at the corner of the street and was leaning on the wall hoping that Shunsui had not seen her. She sighed in relief as the car turned away from her and sped across the empty street towards the town area.

_Luckily they didn't see me; otherwise I would be in a dilemma. _She thought as she made her way towards her house again.

"I'm back!" she announced as she unlocked the door and entered the house. "Oh, you're back? So fast?" she asked Lisa.

"Yeah, we had lunch and watched the movie. I said I wanted to make it back home for dinner and he didn't insist so he drove me home. Where did you go?"

"Oh, I see. I went shopping as we are out of vegetables and eggs."Nanao said as she went into the kitchen to put down the things.

"Ah, do you need any help? " "It's fine. I can do it. You should go and wash up, I'll call you once dinner is ready."

"Thanks. I am so grateful to have you as a sister." Lisa said before heading to her room.

Little did Nanao know that her troubles were only about to start. All because of him.

* * *

Note to the readers: Thank you for reading my story. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did writing it. Thanks for all your support! Please look forward to the upcoming chapters!


	15. A Little Tipsy

Time flew by quickly as Nanao started to immerse herself into work and soon it was coming to the end of September. Rangiku had been running around more than often this particular day, the 29 of September because it was her birthday. The regular customers had stopped by to grab a drink and wished her a "Happy Birthday".

Rangiku who was feeling rather generous declared to all the people in the bar that drinks were on her and everyone could order whatever they wanted.

"Just cut my pay for this Jushiro!" She told him before going over to the crowd to linger with them.

By the end of that night the whole bar was filled with empty beer bottles and glasses. The two most unlikely persons who were drunk as a result of overdrinking from peer-pressure were Toshiro and Nanao. Nanao was the most surprising of all. Shunsui didn't expect that she was such a good drinker.

Unfortunately, she wasn't exactly in good shape since she was half-drunk and feeling very sleepy as what alcohol does to one's brain.

"Jushiro, I will leave you to help Toshiro since Rangiku can handle herself. I will send Nanao back." Shunsui told him and proceeded to help Nanao gather her things.

"Hey, Nanao. Can you hear me? Where do you live?" Shunsui asked her trying to get her to wake up. "Hey, don't fall asleep ok? I need to bring you home. Tell me, what's your house address?" She said something incoherent and had to be supported by Shunsui as she almost lost her balance.

_Damn, I should have driven my car today. I guess I have to go by foot._ He thought. "Nanao, can you still walk?"

She nodded and walked unsteadily for a while before stopping at the park in her neighborhood.

_I can't let him in my house. I can't. I can't._ She reminded herself.

* * *

Suddenly she leant forward and puked into the bushes. "Hey, are you alright? We are at the park now, where's your house?" Shunsui rushed forward to help her up and passed her a tissue to wipe her mouth.

"Star." she said in a sing-song voice.

"What?"

"I see a star. Right there." She said as she pointed to the lamp-post at the side of a park bench ahead of her path.

"Wait... That's not a star. It's a lamp-post." He tried to tell her but she insisted that it was a star.

_She's drunk anyway, let's not pursue that matter. Besides, what's important is that I get her home. I can't let her sleep here the entire night. _He thought.

"Hey, you can't sleep here. It's cold outside, you have to go home. Come on, tell me what's your address."

"No! I want to sleep here. Right under the star."

"That's not a star. It's a lamp-post!" Shunsui was frustrated. _How come she's so stubborn? I never thought she would be like this. Is she always like this when she's drunk?_

"Fine, if that's what you want I'll leave you here. I'm going home!" he told her and turned his back towards her and walked away.

* * *

A minute later he returned to the bench and saw her curling up on the hard bench trying to get into a comfortable position to sleep.

Quietly, he took off his jacket to cover her with it and sat himself at the end of the seat. Gently he shifted her head to lay it on his thigh and looked up towards the lamp-post_._

_And I thought I won't ever need to sleep in a park. Finally, today I have to spend my night sleeping in one because of a woman. That's a first._ He thought. He watched silently as the young woman slept peacefully.

His eyes drew around the contours of her face and he could hear her breathing softly in and out. That was until he felt something wet on his thigh.

"Oh my... No!"He eyes widened as he looked down slowly and saw a small puddle of saliva which began to grow bigger every second.

"This... you... Shit!" He quickly took out a packet of tissues to wipe his pants. _How could she? How could she do this to me? My pants are soiled. Oh my god!_ He was upset and dumbfounded at the same time.

He couldn't stand it if his clothes were wet or dirtied in any way. And apparently, she was the first person who caused him to feel so much discomfort.

_Please, let the day come sooner._ His heart cried out to the gods as he spent his first night sitting uncomfortably on a park bench waiting for the sun to arise.

* * *

When Nanao opened her eyes the next day, the first thing she saw was a face looking down at her. She let out a loud scream and sat up the bench causing him to wake from his sleep.

"What is it?" he asked sleepily. "You... what are you doing here? Why am I here? Did we sleep here the whole night?" she asked standing in front of him.

"What? You don't remember what happened at all last night?" he yawned and blinked his eyes.

"What? What happened? I don't remember anything. Oh my... did we do anything? We didn't right? We couldn't have. I was drunk."

"Yeah right we didn't. You... you were uncontrollable. I was so uncomfortable the whole night because of what you did."

"Oh my god! What? No way, all I can remember is that I was drunk and I fell asleep. I didn't do anything to you. It's true!" she said with a hint of worry.

"You... drooled over my leg you know? It was absolutely horrifying to look down and see all that saliva." Her heart had skipped a beat before she heard his answer. Nonetheless she was relieved that it wasn't anything serious.

_That was it? I just drooled on him? What's the fuss then? I thought I did something worse. What's he so worked up about? _She thought.

After a moment of silence, she bowed and apologized to him. "I'm sorry for causing you so much trouble. Please forgive me for my rudeness. I really didn't mean it."

"Fine. I accept your apology. But next time when you get drunk again, I will definitely not come to help you! Because of you I have to get my pants to the Laundromat. They cost a bomb you know!" he complained.

_What's with that childish attitude? It's just wet that's all. _She wondered as she took her bag.

The two of them parted ways back home, she to take a bath and him to bring his pants to the Laundromat.

_What a night._ That was the same phrase that same up in their minds the rest of the day.


	16. A Common Dislike Part 1

The next few days at work Nanao tried to avoid Shunsui as much as possible. Although she had already apologized she was still embarrassed about the fact that he had seen her drunk and even suffered a night's sleep in the park just to look after her.

_He isn't that bad after all. But still, I can't let him go so easily. I've been in so many awkward situations because of him. It's all his fault! He's a jinx._ She thought.

Slowly, the days turned into weeks and the weeks into a month. Finally the holiday season- December was here. Since it was the last month of the year most of the customers were busy preparing year-end annual reports or had gone away on vacations so business at the bar was rather slow-moving.

"Jushiro, don't you think we could close the shop for a few days and take another vacation? Besides, we aren't making much now?" Rangiku pestered the boss of the bar who was sitting at one of the empty tables doing accounts.

"I'm afraid we can't do that. Although we have had extra help since Shunsui joined, your recent generosity caused us to lose extra profits." He replied referring to her when she she told the customers that she would pay for their drinks on her birthday.

"Tch... it was just a few drinks right? What a calculative man." Rangiku sulked and headed out of the bar for a breath of fresh air.

"Are we really behind our payments? Is it for our rent or our utility bills?" Toshiro asked.

"Nah, none of that. Actually I was just lying to her. We could have another outing this month but I was thinking that we could all have a Christmas dinner instead." Jushiro told him and the two of them started their discussion.

* * *

A few days later, they received a surprise visitor. "Shunsui! I found you! Why didn't you tell me you were working here?" a woman exclaimed after she stepped into the bar and caught sight of him.

"Kiyone? What are you doing here?" he asked in a surprised tone. "I took a day off since it is my parent's anniversary today." she whispered the details into his ear.

"Ah, I forgot. Here, let me introduce you to my colleagues. This is Toshiro who manages the drinks, Rangiku here helps to get the crowds coming, that girl over there is Nanao. And this man over here is my good friend, Jushiro. Everyone, this is my ex-assistant, Kiyone." he mentioned as he pointed to each person respectively and led her to meet his boss.

Shunsui spent the rest of the time entertaining his old colleague while the rest of them worked hard to get the orders done.

_Was he the same previously? I bet he treats all the women he meets so nicely, but none of them seem to see his true colours. He's a troublemaker._ Nanao thought.

"Anyway, I came here to pass you a wedding invitation card. Do you remember who is Aizen Sosuke? He's getting hitched next month. He is a friend of Mr Sasakibe. He invited all the Head of Departments to the wedding as well." Kiyone told Shunsui.

"Didn't you tell him that I'm no longer in the company? I thought it was only relevant to the current leaders." Shunsui asked.

"But he personally asked for you. He remembered you and many of the other leaders because he was with us for a long time. You are going to attend it right? You can ask your girlfriend along." Kiyone asked expecting an instant answer.

"Maybe. I will check back with you again soon alright? I've got to get back to work soon. See you." Shunsui told her and ushered her out of the bar.

Nanao who had overheard a little of their conversation was feeling a little envious.

Although her family was rather well-off she didn't have a chance to attend such events which made her a little like a country bumpkin.

She couldn't understand why she felt that way, perhaps it was because the way she saw Shunsui treating Lisa and comparing the way he treated her. It was as if he was a totally different person.

_Two-faced man. If Lisa had accidentally drooled on him I don't think he would have reacted in that manner. He only cares about his clothes. Hmmph. _Nanao thought.

* * *

Note to readers: I had to split this chapter into two parts because I felt it would be too lengthy if I put it together. Thanks for your reading and your comments! Have fun reading!


	17. A Common Dislike Part 2

The next day, Jushiro told Shunsui his plan to hold a Christmas party. "I need you to go and source for a restaurant for our dinner. We want to find something different, not the usual shops that we go to. And I want the prices to be affordable, I'm the one paying this time."

Shunsui nodded in agreement and Jushiro continued:"You can bring Nanao along to help. The rest of us can manage the store." Before Shunsui could reply he called Nanao over and instructed her to follow Shunsui and help him out.

_Why pick me? Couldn't he ask for somebody else? _Nanao thought as her heart sank in dismay. She couldn't escape from his side no matter how much she tried to hide from him.

For the next two afternoons, the pair went round the town scouting for a restaurant that would fit their boss's requirements. The couple of shops they visited on the first afternoon were either too expensive or that it was cheap but the food weren't of good taste.

Maybe lady luck took pity on them after seeing them trying so hard to find a shop, so she decided to give them a hand the second afternoon.

"I don't think we can possibly find any shop that matches the requirements. We've gone everywhere to look already!" Shunsui said as he stopped to take a breather.

"How can you give up like that? Isn't Jushiro your friend, you should help him all the more. Besides, he trusted you with this task. Don't be so irresponsible." Nanao told him off.

Upon hearing the comment he looked at her and responded: "You sound just like my mother! The only difference is the age. You're such a nag, you know."

By this time Nanao was starting to get irritated by his terrible behaviour.

_Fine! I'm not going to talk to him! He's such an idiot. Why did I have to accompany him anyway? _She wondered feeling angry and upset why Jushiro had told her to follow this jerk around. _He's obviously wasting my time by walking around the same area over and over again._

* * *

When Shunsui looked at her he sworn he could have seen sparks of fury from her eyes. _What is wrong with her now? Did I say something wrong?_

"Hey! Wait up! Don't walk so fast! Where are you going?" he asked as he chased the girl who was trying to flee. She ignored him and continued walking and seem to be heading towards a traditional snack shop.

After they went inside, he followed her to a table and sat on the opposite of her. A waitress came to them and handed a menu and Nanao ordered sweet bean jelly.

When the waitress asked if they wanted green tea, the two of them asked the same question at the same time; "I don't take powdered green tea."

The waitress smiled at their immediate response and assured them that their tea wasn't and went away with their order.

After hearing both their answers there was a long pause. Both of them knew each other's similar dislike for powdered green tea and that was the only thing they had in common.

"You don't like powdered green tea too? I thought I was the only odd one out, all my other friends liked it." Shunsui said breaking the silence.

"Yeah, I didn't think you would dislike it too." Nanao said.

"Isn't that a find! Now we have something in common..." before Shunsui could continue the drinks and snacks were served. So he decided to shut his mouth and the rest of the time was spent enjoying the food.

As Nanao was eating half-way she heard two women talking about a new restaurant that had just opened a month ago. The ladies were gushing about how lovely the place was and the delectable the food were.

The prices were also at a reasonable amount; the only flaw was that the address of the shop was out of the way.

Neither she nor Shunsui had went to that area where the restaurant was situated at. Shunsui suggested that they could check it up on the internet and nanao agreed.

At the end of the day, the two of them came to a consensus that that restaurant would be their ideal place to host their celebration.

After they finished they returned to the bar and told Jushiro the good news.


	18. The Chirstmas Party

Jushiro was pleased when he heard about the new restaurant that they chanced upon. "Thanks for helping me. Alright, I will take it from here now you two and go back to work." "Yes." they replied and reported back to work._ There are still three weeks more till Christmas. Time really flies when you are so busy. _Nanao thought to herself.

In the evening after Shunsui had finished his dinner and settled in front of his television on the couch a question suddenly flashed across in his mind. Up till this moment, he felt happy to be with Lisa but he truly had no idea if she felt the same about him.

In the past six months they had only gone out 10 times on the weekends because of her busy schedule. He realized that he didn't know much about her than she knew about him. They could chat for hours but at the end of the day, he still couldn't find out more about her.

It was the total opposite when he spoke with Nanao. Even though her nagging incessantly very annoying, he felt that the more he talked to Nanao the more he understood her. Sometimes it seemed to him like they had known each other for a long time.

Before Nanao knew it, Christmas was already here. She prayed and hoped that everything would go well. For the rest of the day at work, she could feel a buzz of excitement as the rest of her colleagues ran to and fro delivering orders to the customers. Jushiro who was observing his workers was pleased at their speed and efficiency.

_Even though it may be just for one day, it's such a good thing to see them working so hard. I must remember to treat them to a few drinks at the party today._ Two hours later, he helped everyone to pack up the bar before they headed towards the restaurant. When they reached the restaurant they saw Momo, Renji, Kira and Hisagi waiting for them.

Before Jushiro could explain to Rangiku about the plan, she said: "I know. You are going to give us a huge treat right? It's alright for keeping it from me. Toshiro told me."

Jushiro laughed and said: "Ah, and I thought I could give you a surprise. Alright since you already know it, let's all enjoy ourselves tonight!"

* * *

One hour into the dinner and Nanao was feeling more at ease. There was no sign of her sister appearing any time now and she hoped it would remain the same till the end of the dinner. Her wish had come true as Lisa was unable to make it to their party.

Shunsui had asked her the week before and she had promised him to come but turned him down at the last minute as she had to prepare for an important meeting the next week.

It was no wonder that Shunsui was looking a little glum and was stuffing down more food than drinks. He chose the most expensive portions like abalone and fresh whale meat leaving some of the other diners astonished as to how he could even stomach them all.

After they had finished eating, everyone followed Jushiro as he raised his glass for a toast. "To everyone, let's look forward to a great new year! Let's continue to strive for the best in work! _Kanpai_!" "_Kanpai_!" the rest of them cheered loudly and everyone clink their glasses.

One glass after another, and soon Nanao was beginning to feel her head spin. She wasn't the only one suffering from dizziness; around the table almost everyone was just as drunk as her.

After a few minutes of sitting around, everyone decided to split their way home. Hisagi and Renji helped to send Kira back. Jushiro who was rarely drunk had to be sent home by Rangiku who shared a taxi with him. Shunsui who had driven his car to the restaurant decided to send the remaining three youngsters home.

"I'm really sorry for troubling you." Momo told Shunsui as she helped Toshiro who had passed out into the back of the car. "It's fine. No trouble at all." He reassured her as he helped Nanao to buckle her seatbelt and took the driver's seat next to her.

Before their drinking session began he had drank a few glasses of beer and he knew well enough that he wasn't in the position to be driving right now. So he cleared his mind by drinking just about the same amount of water before he took the wheel.

Under the directions given by Momo, he reached her house in thirty minutes and saw her and Toshiro off safely before asking Nanao for directions to her home. In a slurred speech she gave him some directions and not long he found the car turning into a street which was all too familiar.

_Did she give me the correct directions? It doesn't seem right._ "Hey, are you sure you gave me the right way? Is your house really around here?" he asked her.

Slowly Nanao turned her head towards the window and said: "Yes. Right down this lane. My house is the first one on the right." _It can't be. That is Lisa's house._ He thought.

Hesitating for a second he slowed his car down as it reached the house gate and unlocked the car's door. Nanao thanked him and stepped out of the car and approached the gate.

He parked his car and got out. Suddenly, Nanao started calling out for someone to open the gate. "Hey! What are you doing? You're going to wake the whole neighborhood with your shouting. Shh!" he whispered to her. She turned to him and stared hard at him because her vision was blurred by too much drinks.

As her vision cleared and she saw him she cried out: "You! What are you doing here so late?"

"No, I just sent you home because you're drunk." As he tried to approach her she back away and fell as she tripped on a pebble.

Meanwhile in the house, Lisa was just about to tuck herself into bed when she saw the reflection of car lights and here someone calling to open the gate.

_Is that Nanao? She's late._ She thought as she made her way down to go out and see what was happening.

* * *

Everything moved in slow motion the next minute.

Shunsui hurriedly grabbed her arm to pull her an action which caused her to lean in so close to his face that both their lips brushed against each other.

At the same time he heard Lisa's voice asking who was at the gate and quickly pulled away from Nanao.

"Lisa. I'm sorry, I can explain this…"

"Is that Nanao? Is she drunk?"

"Yes, she's drunk and she just passed out. I'm sorry."

"Could you help me carry her into the house? Come, follow me." Lisa instructed and opened the door for Shunsui before leading him into Nanao's bedroom and helped to put her sister to bed.

A few minutes later he emerged from the house with Lisa trailing behind. Before he could begin explaining, Lisa shushed him and told him it was alright.

"It's ok. I'm not angry, you were just sending her back home since she was drunk. That's so sweet of you. Thanks a lot Shunsui. Where did you find her? She gave you directions here?" Shunsui hesitated before replying:" Yes. I saw her along the roadside flagging for a cab and she saw my car. She thought I was driving a taxi so she gave me the address."

Lisa laughed after she heard what he had said. "Really? That was so funny. Well, you must be tired you should get home to rest."

"Ah, alright. Have a good night and a Merry Christmas!" he said before getting into his car and waved to her before driving off.

Lisa smiled and waved back to him after that she retreated back into the house and went back to sleep.

Shunsui on the other hand tossed and turned in his bed the whole night wondering what had took place outside his girlfriend's house. His mind went back to the conversation he had with Lisa earlier on.

_"Are you two sisters?" he asked Lisa as they both walked to his car after leaving Nanao in her room._

_Lisa nodded, "Yes, but not related by blood. She was adopted."_

_"Oh, I see."_

_I hope she didn't see what happened just now. It's just too shameful. _Shunsui thought and tried to settle his mind and get some sleep.


	19. After that

The following day, Nanao woke up with a bad hangover. She sat up in her bed and placed her hand on her forehead. _How did I get home yesterday?_ _I can't remember a thing._She thought as she left the room and went to the kitchen to get a glass of water.

"Hey, you're up already? I thought you would want to catch up on your sleep." Lisa asked her sister when she saw her enter the kitchen.

"Good morning sis. I'm having a bad hangover. Do you have any idea how I came home yesterday?" the younger girl asked.

Lisa went on to tell her how she found Shunsui at their gate the previous night and that Nanao had passed out so they had to carry her up to her bedroom.

When Nanao heard that, the memory of yesterday came back to her mind.

_Oh no. So does that mean she has found out already?_ Nanao thought worriedly.

"He said you thought he was driving a cab and demanded for a ride home." Lisa said and laughed.

_Cab? Did he lie? I clearly remembered him giving Momo and Toshiro a lift home then I was next._ Nanao racked her brains trying to remember the details of yesterday night.

Just then she remembered what was the last thing that happened before she passed out.

_I was about to fall when he caught me and then... oh no. Did we really do that? Shit, I don't know. _Nanao searched her head frantically trying to find the right answer.

_I hope that it wasn't what happened. __Please, I'll just treat that as a dream. It didn't happen. It didn't. _she told herself.

* * *

Lisa did not suspect that her sister was actually working in the same place as Shunsui. However, when she saw the two of them together yesterday she thought they looked quite cute together.

Although they had been attached for awhile, she felt that she was more of a friend than a lover to Shunsui. Lisa didn't feel much love for him as they didn't really have much in common.

_Perhaps I could hook him up with Nanao? They would be a great pair instead._ She thought and smiled at the idea.

"Let's get out for some fresh air. Come, let's go out for breakfast." Lisa told Nanao and the younger girl nodded her head in agreement before rising the empty glass and heading out of the house.

After the festivities, life was back to normal as everyone went back to work and the days at the bar was busy as ever. Rangiku had called to inform Jushiro that she would be taking a leave for the next two weeks as she was overseas on holiday.

"She just does what she wants and leaves us to handle the big jobs at such a crucial time." Jushiro sighed and returned the phone to its stand.

He shrugged his shoulders and took a deep breathe before continuing, "We will have to work harder the next two weeks. Shouldn't be a problem for us right?"

"Yes sir! No problem at all." The remaining workers said in unison.

"Good. Carry on with your work then." Jushiro told them.

Nanao had no idea that Shunsui already knew about her relationship with Lisa but she still tried to avoid making contact with him as much as possible.

Shunsui on the other hand was thinking about whether he should attend the wedding with.

But that shouldn't be a problem since he's already attached to Lisa right?

Or is his heart with someone else?

He knew he was going to be in for a lot of trouble. He and his women issues.


	20. New Year's Eve

"Let's meet up tonight. I have something important to speak to you about." Lisa told Shunsui. "Ok, where do you want to meet?"

"Let's meet at the usual place. You don't have to drive. We will just go somewhere near."

"Alright, see you later." With that the call ended and Shunsui put the phone down.

"Tonight eh? Today's the last day of the year, time really flies." he said and tapped his lip with his finger – deep in thought reflecting on what had happened in the past few months. As he ran through the list of events that had happened in his mind and had just came to the recent one, he couldn't stop that silly smile from stretching itself across his face.

He ran his hand through his messy bad of hair. That girl had no idea how much space she was taking up in his brain. He could still remember the taste of alcohol from her lips when they kissed.

_Does she even remember what happened that day? Or maybe she couldn't since she passed out._

Lisa was planning to break the news to Shunsui tonight. She decided to do that because she knew if she stuck with him, they wouldn't make any progress in their relationship.

If she confirmed with him about his feelings for Nanao than she would be willing to go all out to help them get together. With her mind all set, she took the rest of the afternoon to go shopping for more clothes.

* * *

_5 hours and 30 minutes later..._

Shunsui was staring dumbfound at Lisa who was sitting across the table from him. "Aren't you going to eat? Your food is turning cold." she told him. He sat there trying to understand what she just told him.

Lisa had just told him that she wanted to call it quits and asked him if he liked Nanao. "Did... did you just initiate a break-up? For your sister?"

Lisa swallowed her mouthful of food before replying him, "I don't think that we are really suitable. You are a great man, I know. So you should deserve to be with someone you would like to spend your time with – and that person is my sister. Or am I wrong about it?"

Shunsui narrowed his eyes and thought hard. "What makes you say that? Why would I give you up for your sister? Besides she is so much younger than me, there's an age gap."

"I thought you said you didn't mind the age of your partner. Did you forget already? It was stated in your contact details from the dating agency."

Shunsui knew he had lost the battle of words from her, and so he shut his mouth and took a sip of his wine.

"Are you sure you don't want to eat anything?" Shunsui shook his head and drank some more wine.

Lisa shrugged and continued eating for the next 15 minutes. They left the restaurant at 8.30pm and walked towards the park nearby.

* * *

"Come on. Think about it. You don't really love me, because you are attracted to my sister right?" Lisa started after they sat down on a bench to rest.

Shunsui who had kept quiet the whole time was sorting his thoughts out and he inhaled quickly before speaking, "Yeah, I admit it. I do like your sister. She's got a clumsy but cute side to her. And she's serious whenever she's working. I think she's a wonderful person. But..."

"But what? You're afraid that I might get jealous? Come on, I'm giving you the green light right now! It's so obvious from the way you look at her, you are smitten by her."

"... Why do you want to do this anyway? Isn't it weird that you would be so happy to give yourself up and use your sister as a replacement."

"She's not a replacement! What do you think this is? A game? Do I look like I'm joking around here?" she said angrily with a solemn look on her face.

"No, not at all. I'm sorry, I didn't mean it that way."

"Look, if I find out that you have been toying with my sister's heart, you better be prepared to get beaten! I won't forgive you if you break her heart! Do you understand?" Shunsui nodded and promised her that he wouldn't.

"Right. That wasn't so hard after all wasn't it? Good. So that's settled, you better start getting your hunting gear on. It's going to be a tough catch."

"Hunting gear? What do you mean?" "Nanao. She's your catch, you've got to be prepared to do anything and everything if you want her heart."

Shunsui looked at Lisa with a perplexed look. "You associate her like an animal getting caught by a hunter?"

Lisa laughed when he mentioned it. "It's just an example. Besides, we've done this a few times already. Previously, I gave all the guys hints to help them get my sister too. Unfortunately, they are too dependent on me for all the answers. So, I had to cut the chase and give them the boot."

"You make it sound like some competition. All the men are the challengers and your sister is the prize?"

"Yeah, and I'm the judge." Lisa smiled and the both of them got up and continued to walk to the bus stop.

Before she started making her way home, she her Shunsui clear his throat. "Thanks for all the time you spent with me the past months. I had a great time. Really."

"I'm glad you did. Me too, I enjoyed it too. Take care ok? And make sure you treat Nanao well." she told him before waving good-bye and wishing him a good-night.

"Good night. I will make her happy. I promise." he called out and waved good-bye to her and watched Lisa making her way home.

Shunsui spent the rest of his New Year's Eve trying to contain his happiness and excitement. He felt like a little boy who had just received news that he would be going to Disneyland. He knew he had a lot of work to do if he wanted to get into the good books of Nanao.

Boy, she sure was difficult to get - that was just the type he liked.


	21. Preparation

There was only a week more till the wedding and Shunsui still didn't know what to do. He called Lisa for help. "Don't worry. I will help you persuade her to attend it with you. Leave it to me." she assured him before putting the phone down. Upon ending the call she went to search for Nanao and found her sitting outside the house, at the balcony enjoying the view of the night starry sky.

"Wow. There are a lot of stars out tonight eh? It's so beautiful." Lisa commented as she made her way to sit next to her sister. Nanao looked away from the sky and saw her sister approaching. "Hey. Yeah, it's so pretty tonight." After a moment of silence Lisa spoke, "I have a favor to ask of you Nanao."

"What is it?"

"It's like this, I'm supposed to attend this wedding with Shunsui next Saturday but I'm had to turn down the invitation because I'm too busy. Could you help stand in for me just once? Please?" After hearing her sister's request, she answered a straight out no. _As expected from her. _Lisa thought. _But I can't give up, I must persist! _

Lisa continued as if she had not heard what Nanao said, "Please Nanao. I just need you to help me out this one and final time. I will lend you my dress to wear and make you the prettiest girl at the wedding there. Just go there and have fun the whole night. It's so simple! Alright, you will help me won't you?" Lisa asked her and batted her eyelashes in a cute manner. Nanao couldn't help but laugh aloud when she saw the action her sister just did.

After a minute of consideration she gave in and her sister shrieked with joy and hugged her fiercely. "Thank you Nanao! I knew I could count on you to help me! Thank you!" she repeated it again and again.

"Alright, alright. I got it. You can stop with the hugging already. I think I'm going to be suffocated to death soon." Lisa laughed and let go off her sister then the two of them went back into the house to head of to dreamland.

* * *

The next day Nanao approached Shunsui and told him that she would attend the wedding with him but only as a stand-in for her sister. _She still doesn't know that I and Lisa have broken up? I thought she would have told her? _Shunsui just nodded his head and thanked her.

Nanao quickly returned to work after informing him. She still felt uneasy being near him because she still thought he was Lisa's boyfriend. The reason why Lisa didn't tell her about the split up was because she knew Nanao would not grant her request as she night feel that she was being made use of and wanted to match make her again.

_I will definitely not make a fool of myself again. _Nanao told herself.

The week went by quickly and soon Saturday morning had arrived. Lisa was particularly chirpy the whole day. "You know what day it is today right?" she said in an overly excited voice.

"Yes, and I wonder why you are so happy. It's as if you were the one getting married." Nanao said.

"I've already picked out three dresses for this evening. Choose the one which fits you and when I return from work later I will have to help you with your make-up. Make sure you get ready all your items alright? See you later!" Lisa said to her and grabbed a packet of orange juice before heading out the door.

One thing Nanao didn't get it was how her sister could find the time to help her with the make-up but yet no time to attend the wedding. It just didn't add up. But since she had already agreed to help Lisa, there was no turning back.

After breakfast, she went upstairs to her sisters room and found three dresses laid out nicely with matching accessories and shoes on the bed. She spent the rest of the time trying out all the dresses figuring which one was the best.

She knew her fashion taste wasn't the best and couldn't compare to her sister. Lisa had a way of pulling off any kind of look and rather a clothes changing chameleon. She had took part in several fashion catwalk competitions in senior high school last time and took home the 1st place.

After a long time, she came to the decision of wearing the black dress. It was a tube dress made from chiffon and had a decent length which was just a few inches above her knees. Although she didn't like the length of the dress she felt it was the best choice among the three. The other two dresses were either too tight fitting or too bright as she didn't want to stand out in a crowd.

Luckily her sister had placed a shawl to wear with the dress to keep warm. An hour later, Lisa came back and threw down everything and went to help her sister prepare.

"Here, put these on. I bought it specially for today. You will look prettier without your glasses."

"No, I want to keep my glasses. I don't want to wear contacts!" Nanao said in dismay.

"Then, I'm afraid you will end up being the center of attention. Do you want that?" Nanao sulked and proceeded to take off her spectacles and wear the contact lenses.

After a few minutes she was done and blinked her eyes a few times to get used to the lenses.

"There! You look so much better. Besides, its much easier to maintain your make up without those glasses. Close your eyes for a second, I'm going to put on the foundation." Lisa instructed her. Minutes ticked by and finally she was ready.

* * *

"Lisa! There's a man outside looking for you!" their mother shouted at the bottom of the stairs.

"Ah, he's here already?" Lisa said as she heard and glanced at the clock. "10 minutes early as well. I guess he drove his car here. Come on, let's go outside." and she escorted her sister out of the bedroom to the waiting chauffeur and his car.

The moment Nanao stepped out from behind the door, Shunsui did a double take.

_Is that really the same Nanao who works at the bar with me? God. I must be dreaming. She looks absolutely stunning tonight. _he thought.

Somehow or rather Nanao seemed a little more innocent and demure than usual. Perhaps she was a little embarrassed to be seen wearing such a dress and felt awkward to be attending a wedding with her sister's boyfriend.

"Have fun tonight! Don't worry about staying out too late. Mom and dad know where you're going." Lisa whispered to her and gave her a small push. "Please look after her well Shunsui!" she told him.

"Yes, I will." he nodded and opened the car door for Nanao.

_He doesn't look too bad himself too. I guess he really took the time to prim himself up for tonight. What a long night it will be for me. I guess I can sit back and relax with a cuppa and a good movie. _Lisa thought to herself as she watched the car drive away into the night heading towards the ballroom where the wedding would be held.

* * *

Note to readers: Thanks for all your continuous support. I haven't been able to submit my chapters frequently as I have been busy with my studies. Please look forward to the next chapter patiently! I hope this series won't be too draggy otherwise it won't be enjoyable. :) Take care everybody!


	22. Attendance

There were still people streaming into the hall when they arrived so they knew they were not late. Shunsui and Nanao proceeded into the main hall where the guests were seated at their respective tables, waiting for the ceremony to begin.

Shunsui recognized some of his old University classmates and went over to mingle with them leaving Nanao at the table alone with the other guests. Soon, the lights dimmed and the stage was lit with a single spotlight as an emcee came up to start the ceremony.

For the next half an hour, they screened a short video of how Sosuke Aizen and his soon-to-be wife, Isane Kotetsu met. As soon as Shunsui saw the name, he was surprised._ That's Kiyone's sister! How come she didn't say earlier? _he thought.

As he scanned across the banquet hall he saw a familiar face. _What's Jushiro doing here? Does he know Aizen as well? _Puzzled he continued to observe the ceremony quietly.

"Let us now invite the bride out!" the emcee said loudly and the sound of the wedding march was played as the bride was lead to the front of the stage by her father, with Aizen waiting in the front. After the vows were made and the champagne popped, it was time to tuck in.

* * *

Nanao waited rather impatiently for the food to be served. She was getting bored while waiting for the wedding ceremony to begin.

_That insensitive man just left me alone and went to chat with his friends._ _Thank god it's only for today. I can't wait for it to be over. _She thought to herself.

She took small portions of all the food on the table and Shunsui looked at her astonished. _Wow, this girl can really eat. She must be really hungry after waiting so long. _And he continued to take more portions himself as he was feeling rather hungry too.

A few tables their boss, Jushiro was gazing at the smiling bride. He knew Isane when they were in their University days. She was from another school but they met each other when they signed up for the same first aid class at a private learning center.

They were good friends and could chat about almost anything but she didn't think their relationship could go any further.

Thus, he was left with a mended but lonely heart hoping that one day he could find someone better.

When he overheard Kiyone telling Shunsui about the wedding, he had took a peek at the wedding invitation card. He was shocked to see that name on the card so he wanted to come and see for himself.

I_ should just be happy for her. Besides she should be in good hands since he's much richer than me_. He thought sadly to himself but smiled a little to make himself feel a little better.

* * *

Back to Shunsui's table, Nanao was starting to feel awful. She had stuffed herself a little too quickly just now and was feeling unwell. "I have to go to the washroom. I will be back soon." she excused herself and left the table.

The minutes ticked by slowly and after half an hour there was still no sign of her. _Where could she have gone? The dinner is ending soon. I better go search for her. _Shunsui thought and he left the table to search for Nanao. Meanwhile, she was still in the loo.

The other guests who went in after her complained of a stench which was partly from her. Apparently, she had diarrhea from eating unclean mussels earlier. Shunsui who had found the toilet was waiting outside and overheard the other women complaining as they walked out.

_Is she still inside? I better call her to check._ He took out his handphone to call her. Then, he heard a ringing sound coming from inside the ladies washroom and Nanao answer. "What?"

"Are you in the toilet? I'm waiting outside there now. The ceremony is ending soon. We've got to go."

"I'm still... in there. Could you wait for a little while more?"

"Ok, another 5 minutes." and he disconnected the call.

15 minutes later, the door unlocked and Nanao stepped out. "Are you alright?" he asked in concerned. Nanao just nodded and walked slowly as her rear end still stung.

When they got into his car, she told him to drive quickly as she didn't know when she would have to heed nature's call again.

And for the next 20 minutes, he sped almost all the way to her house.

Lisa came to open the gate for them.

"Wow, I thought you will be back late. You're early." Lisa said when she saw the pair.

"Long story. I have to go now." Nanao said and she ran into the house to the toilet.

"What was that about?" Lisa asked. Shunsui just laughed and shook his head."I think she ate something bad and had the runs. So I drove her back as fast as I could."

"I see."

"By the way, haven't you told her that we have already broken up?"

"Ah, I will. Once, the time is right. Don't worry. Just get your game together. It will be fine!" she told him.

"Alright, I should get home now. Good night."

"Good night!" Shunsui turned back to his car and drove off.


	23. Summer Festival

Two weeks later, Shunsui received a call from Lisa asking him how he was doing with Nanao.

"Eh? What do you mean nothing? You haven't talked to her since then? What are you doing?" she exclaimed.

"I don't know. I mean, I'm not sure how to ask her. Besides, haven't you told her about us?" he asked.

"I did."

"What was her reaction?"

"... She didn't say anything." "What? Then what am I supposed to do?"

"Just ask her! You don't need me to be the middle-man to settle this. Handle it yourself. I'm counting on you to make her happy!" Lisa snapped and slamed the phone.

_What is up with her? I thought she said she would give me tips to help, but in the end she's just leaves me on my own. _He thought as the call was cut and he put down the phone. He had to start thinking of ways to get her attention.

* * *

For the past week, Nanao was trying to acknowledge the fact that her sister and Shunsui had split. There was no exact reason why but Nanao sensed that Lisa was in fact trying to match-make her again.

It annoyed her to the extent that she didn't speak to her sister the whole week. Finally, on the last day of the week she started talking. "Did you have this planned from the start?"

Lisa put on a shocked face and exclaimed: "Of course not! Why would I have planned it? It was just that the circumstances seemed to change this time."

"Oh, right. So they always do. Isn't this the same as last time?"

"No, this time I can bet with you that it's real. This relationship will last."

"What relationship? Yours? Or mine? I'm tired of playing along with your silly dating games sis. I can find a boyfriend by myself. Right now, I just want to focus on my work."

"I don't see when you can even find the time to find one when you put all your concentration into your work." Lisa retaliated.

Nanao knew she was defeated in the war of words with her sister at this moment, so she had no choice but to keep her mouth shut.

"By the way, I don't think I would have to worry about you having to search for a boyfriend now. You've already got him." Lisa said with a laugh.

"What is that supposed to mean?" Nanao said.

"You will see in time to come." The older one replied before returning to her room.

A few weeks later, it was the start of another summer and the air was filled once again with the festivities.

There were many street festivals going out and flyers were distributed along the busy streets by workers in mascot outfits.

When Shunsui made his way to the bar that Thursday, he was bombarded by a number of those workers giving out flyers. When he finally made it to the bar, he deposited a huge stack of those flyers onto an empty table beside the counter.

Without looking up from his work, Toshiro said: "What are those doing there?"

"They are flyers. I was on my way here and all these were thrown into my face."

"Get those thrown away now. We have to keep it clean; the customers will be coming in very soon."

Shunsui nodded and went on to clear the mess of papers on the table just as the first few customers came in.

The night went on as usual with the banter of the groups of drunken businessmen who were being entertained by Rangiku. Just then, one of them caught sight of a piece of paper which was stuck under the table leg which they were sitting at.

He bent down to pick it up and showed it to the rest of his friends. "Hey look! A festival parade! There's going to be a fireworks display." He exclaimed as the rest of the group started their conversations about the festivities.

Rangiku took the paper from them after they abandoned it to enter into their discussion and went off to show it to Nanao and the rest.

"Look, there's so much activities that they will hold. And the date isn't too bad either. It's on a Saturday. Do you guys want to come along?" she urged the rest.

"I will pass. I don't think I want to waste my time with you all." Toshiro said.

"Never mind about this idiot. What about the rest of you? Nanao? You will come along right?" Nanao smiled and shrugged her shoulders. Maybe she would go, maybe not.

The possibility of Shunsui going would be 50-50. That was a risk.

Just then, Jushiro appeared and asked them what they were doing.

"Ah boss! It's about this!" Rangiku showed him the flyer.

A few moments later, Jushiro said: "Alright, let's go to this festival. I shall make this our second outing for all of us. You can bring along a few of your friends too."

The only person who was visibly happy was Rangiku.

Shunsui was feeling hopeful.

Toshiro had went back to make drinks for the customers after hearing the news.

Nanao was left feeling disappointed. She wished she could have the courage to say no when Jushiro announced but she couldn't bear to say it.

* * *

Note to the readers: I'm awfully sorry for the long pause in my story. I was busy the last month because of my exams and all. I'm thinking of ending this series soon and come back with a second season. Meanwhile, I've been getting ideas for my next story, and the couple is ToushiroXMomo.


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